The Weeping Warriors: Dawn of the Bloody Sun
by The Iron Triangle
Summary: How could we not have seen it coming? How could we not have known we'd created the very same monster to begin with? How could we not have realized…we'd joined hands with the very thing we'd fought against, all those years? And we could never take it back. (Full Summary Inside) Rated T for gore, character death, and war strategies.
1. Chapter 1: A Promise of Peace

**Summary: Part One**

No matter what happens, no matter where you go, I will find you.

And I will destroy you.

What if your entire life is a lie? What if where you came from was just a story meant to drag you away from your destined path?

Ninjago has conquered the final enemy. When the promise of peace returns, a war breaks out on the coast. Overnight, hundreds of boats fill the surrounding seas. The people have disappeared, leaving behind everything but their most welcome presence. An enemy of unknown has infiltrated the borders, and stepped foot upon the shore.

Armed with nothing but one another and a scroll telling a tale of wrath and destruction, the ninja set off on a new course to protect their homeland from forces that come by night and vanish by dawn.

But when one of them turns, with is no trace of poison or hypnosis, they realize that the more they search, the more lies they uncover, and the deeper the dread sinks in to their ever-shrinking group. For this to end, they must make a choice, and they know, even if they don't make this choice, their lives are about to change…forever.

Rated T for gore, character death, and strategy.

 **Summary: Part Two**

The day the devil came to my door, the day I traded my soul for fame. Most would expect temptation to take on the form of gold. Piles of gold, mountains stretching high above the shining seas. We were wrong, all of us. It is the end. It was always going to come to this. That day, everything did end, and we helped them do it.

There is no excuse. Even if we said we were deceived, what good does it do? Everything is gone. Everyone we ever loved, disappeared from the face of this face. And slowly, we will too, and there will be nothing left but them. The Oni? What a joke. The Oni was nothing—just another one of his tactics to get blood on our hands. How could we not have seen it coming? How could we not have known we'd created the very same monster to begin with?

 **Further Information:**

This story has nothing to do with season nine. Just imagine season eight where Wu has already grown back into an old man, and the ninja already having battled the Oni. Lloyd still doesn't have his powers. Something like that.

Contains minor spiritual themes, as well as character death. This story will focus on family, loyalty, and friendship, and each of the ninja in turn. Is in third person omniscient. Primary P.O.V.'s, Lloyd and Zane. No cursing, nothing dirty. Just clean old Ninjago with major doses of ninja logic. :)

The story builds like LEGO blocks, so the hurt/comfort comes in at a later time.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Ninjago, or any of the Hageman Brother's epic works.

 **Chapter 1**

 **A Promise of Peace**

The promise of peace hung about Ninjago. But that morning, everything changed. At first, the ninja thought Wu had set up a new alarm system in the upper deck. Something digital, set to full blast: a recording of an air raid. When two full minutes passed, everyone had gathered to the port side. That's when they saw it. Enormous wooden ships. Military ships, hundreds of them, filling the ocean like ants pouring out of a drowning an ant pile. Only, the ants remained silent, broken by the wind in the brown-red flags, too shredded to identify by any proper means.

"What are they?" Kai asked. His voice hit a strange note, and fell still, as if the air about them had sliced off their will to form words. Even Jay said nothing. He glanced back and forth nervously, a chuckle lodged in his gritty throat.

After a long period in which they gaped at the enormous fleets and the threateningly peaceful waves, Wu ventured to speak. "Do you have anything, Zane?"

Everyone else looked at the old man in surprise. They would have expected him to announce something ominous, such as "it is time", or "it is as I have feared; they have arrived."

Zane reconstructed the flags with his scanner, projected them into the air on a blue grid. "This is what I have, but it's…" He broke off, and stared at it in shocked silence. There was nothing.

"It's what?" Lloyd asked, his eyebrows narrowed. He found the nindroid's demeanor unnerving. So did the others. Normally they came out with differing opinions. This time, no one countered him.

"Every Ninjago emblem, along with the foreign enemies we have thus encountered, is stored in my database. Even if not, I can pick up on new ones."

"Right, and?"

"If it were new, I would have picked up on it and stored it under a temporary label. That is, until we identified the bearers." Zane broke off again, his fist to his chin, glinting silver in the morning sun.

Jay finally erupted in a blabbering fit. "Well? Spit it out, Zane. Don't keep us in suspense. What did you find?"

"Well…" Zane paused again. "I believe this is… My father—he left me all the information known in Ninjago, and then I stored the rest based on the experiences prior to and post the time of my memory erase. I thought I'd restored everything after returning to the forest. It seems I may have overlooked something. Or, rather, my father did. He had attempted to permanently delete an encrypted file.

"I noticed this a while back, during the time of the Overlord and the stone warriors. Ever since then, I've spent my spare time decoding it. The continuous interruptions disrupted the flow of the process, so I have yet to crack it. This file contains the flag emblem from these ships.

"According to my own assessment of my father and his actions, he knew the process would expend too much time and energy, and eventually left it alone. He may have overlooked a few pieces of information when he stored it. It is unlike him, but it is the most probable explanation as of yet. The flag is among them."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Cole said.

Jay piped up. "Yeah. I mean, look at Sensei. He's kept so many secrets, and there's probably still more. We've dealt with the stone warriors, the Ovelord, Garmadon, an ancient rock man, a bunch of ghosts, Wu's secret student, a big ugly sea cucumber lady, a whole army of your lookalikes, and we've all come out fine. There's no reason to get all freaked out, right?"

"Jay's right," Kai said. "Relax. We'll get past this. We always do."

Zane shook his head. Cole wrapped an arm around his neck, jerking him close. "We'll find out why your father did that. I'm sure he had a good reason."

Nya joined him, clapping an arm on their friend's shoulder. "Ninja never quit."

Everyone came in for a titanium group noogie, leaving Sensei and Misako to exchanged worried looks. At length, the old man stepped forward, his new staff hitting the ground with a light, yet ominous clack. "Ninja, I have something to announce."

The others turned to him. "What is it, Sensei?" Kai asked.

"Zane's father told me about the file." Before anyone could express his "shock" at another one of their master's ever-growing stash of secrets, he held up a withered hand. "Let me finish. First, I must reveal something to you. I…am not an Oni, and I am not a dragon. There is no other realm like the one I told you. These ships here—they are the true ships of my homeland, Ninjago's first and final warriors. They were here, long ago. They existed on this island, way before the First Spinjitzu Master ever founded the people and before he battled the Overlord.

"The Overlord…is just one of many foes. He came from another realm, and when he left, that realm failed. The First Spinjitzu Master had created those warriors and sent them in to destroy the remnants of dark power within. That's when the Overlord escaped. That's also the day the warriors succumbed to that power. They've been trapped there, for thousands of years. When the alarm goes off, that means they have been freed.

"The real reason I called you six together was to determine the key. I knew it was only a matter of time before they were freed. By whom, or what, I do not yet know, but today…I found the answer."

He stopped and looked out to the sea, heaving a long, ancient sigh. The wind died down, leaving the entire beach eerily lifeless. The waves continued lazily sloshing back and forth, but for some reason it only made it feel worse.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked.

Wu shook his head. "I fear I cannot say. The answer is too dark for anyone to handle. Not even I can fathom it."

Jay crossed his arms, and huffed. "Typical Sensei. Always pulling the wool over our eyes."

"You're always hiding things. Why?" Cole asked. The others exchanged looks, or nods. Zane slowly approached the aged man before him, and bowed his head respectfully, then straightened to his full height, his sharp eyes softening to a peaceful, gentle glow, like flowing water amidst a cubicle of ice.

"I agree. Sensei, there is no reason to keep hiding things from us. All your life, you've borne the secrets of Ninjago. To the world, you are a master, a hero, a savior clothed in white, and with you follows the hope of dawn. It is a burden too difficult to bear. Even if you must hold up the whole world, we are your family. Even if we can't hold it up for you, we can hold up you. We will fight for you to the very ends of Ninjago and back, and the islands and realms beyond. Tell us: what is it that haunts you? Let us know if we can help."

"Zane's right," Lloyd said. "You can't handle it alone. The only way to save the world is to save it, together. And if we have to go down with the ship, we go down with the ship, together. That's what family is for.

"Before, I was too young to understand my dad's hardships. Then, one day, I realized: I was never there for him, and I decided to stay by his side as long as I could, even if that meant three short months, even one day. Even if I could do nothing and watch him go, I was there. My presence gave him hope, and because of that hope, he repented. He had a son; he had a brother; he had a wife; he had the will to go on. Had I not been there for him, what would it have been like?" Lloyd walked around Zane, and placed a hand on his uncle shoulder. "Tell us, Sensei. We'll always be with you."

"That…didn't sound very encouraging. It sounded more like your last words. Right?" Jay chuckled nervously, and looked around for support. Nya elbowed him sharply.

"The choice is up to you," Kai said. No one expected him to say that, but they all agreed and waited expectantly.

Sensei rubbed his beard up and down like dry tinder. Finally, he sighed and gave them a resigned nod, turning away as the first light of sun broke through the dawn.

"In order to save them, we must join them, and peel away the illusion they've placed upon us. Last night was real. Today is a dream—the real nightmare, if you'd like to call it that. We have to kill…every single man and woman in Ninjago, and everyone around us. Only then can we break the spell."

And that's the moment Ninjago changed, forever.

 **Author's Note:**

Hello. It's been a while.

Here is an overview of how things are going to work. I've had lots of health problems over the past couple of years, leading to my lengthy absence. Right now, I am working on recovering, and during this time I would like to use fanfiction as a way of healing via the placebo effect—something along those lines—, and to kind of get me back on my feet and de-stress. I get massive headaches on occasion, so if I don't update for a day or two, that's probably why; however, I will do my best to be consistent and persevere in completing this story. Updates will, more than likely, be once a week. In any case, it is nice to be back on fanfiction. Hope you enjoy this FF. :)

With much love,

C. J.


	2. Chapter 2: The Test

Chapter 2

The Test

Everyone erupted all at once. "Uh… Did I just hear what I think I heard?"

"If I had a dollar for every bad joke—"

"Sensei, that was just… _awful_."

"Kill everyone in Ninjago? Come on! There's no way."

"There has to be another way."

Again Sensei shook his head. "There is no other way. I had feared this day would come."

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked.

"I know, it sounds harsh. But they aren't real. Your real parents, your real friends—they're waiting for us. We've been poisoned by the enemy—the Bleakers, beings that existed long before time. Combined with the Spell of None, the poison will take hold of the brain. Our bodies may be in the real world, but our spirits lie in the spellbound realm: Georetrii."

"Sounds like a math class," Jay said.

Wu continued, his back turned to them. "The enemy disguises itself in my many forms and faces. They may look like the people we know, but they are not. They may even be hiding among us. There is one Bleaker that likes to stir up confusion, and divide groups. He is well-known in his own place. Seeing as how famous we are for protecting Ninjago, he will target us first. He may already have."

"And that means…" Kai broke off.

"It means one of us is a Bleaker. You are correct."

"Then let's turn the tables on him."

Zane stepped forward. "Master, do you think we can win?"

"We can't win. Not without uniting under one cause. You must have an iron will. Believe what you want to believe. I will leave you to discuss your plans. Do not disappoint me."

Everyone watched Wu walk back inside, dumbfounded at that enigmatic phrase. There was something very wrong going on. Something very different…strange. Lloyd couldn't put his finger on it, but he made up his mind. He followed the others inside, determined to find out.

* * *

Lloyd couldn't believe it. Last night, they'd landed on the beach with plans to relax. Jay would bring over his parents. Cole would bring his dad, Kai and Nya their parents. Now, ten full minutes later, they were about to attack the very people they'd stepped up to protect, the very people that brought them up and made them who they were.

He found himself sitting at a table in the reconstructed _Bounty's_ Bridge—the place where they'd stood together and planned to eliminate all threats from Ninjago. He started to say something when Zane stood up.

"Before we begin, I have a proposition to make. Because this operation is on a different scale, and because the Bleaker may have already infiltrated _The Bounty_ , we need to take a few preliminary precautions. Since we know more about the situation, we can spend time on a course of action, rather than investigation. Let's begin by determining whether the Bleaker has arrived." He reached down under the table, and produced a pink ninja suit, which he laid out for everyone to see.

"Isn't this—" Cole began, but Zane held up a hand.

"From five whole minutes, you are not to speak, write, or give any other visible cues as a form of communication. Only answer my questions to you. If I ask Lloyd, only Lloyd must answer. If I ask Kai, then only Kai may respond." Before anyone could object, he opened up his panel, and punched a few button. "The time begins now."

An electronic _beep_ originated from his head, and numbers appeared in his eyes, flicking backwards in a countdown. "Jay, what did we use to prank you on the day you turned into a snake?"

"Why are you—"

Nya grabbed his arm. Jay sighed. "Cologne."

"When Lloyd transformed into a spider, what did he first say?"

 _Spider?_ Lloyd thought. _Since when did I turn into a—_

"Spider!" Jay yelped. "Zane, what fried your memory banks this morning? Don't tell me it was Cole, 'cauze he can't even fix a broken—Kai, did you lose control of your powers?"

Kai opened his mouth, but Zane was already firing the next question. "Nya, what color was your dress on your first date?"

Lloyd suppressed a smile. _So that's his tactic._

Nya seemed to have caught on as well, because she crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair. "The day you put on a pink Santa suit and danced in the hallway on school break."

"Cole, why did you quit Law School?"

"It's dancing, and—"

"Kai, what's your brother's middle name?"

"Zane, I didn—it wasn't me that turned him into this, I swear. What the heck is—"

"Lloyd"—Zane paused, providing just the right amount of time for spiders to crawl into the green ninja's stomach—"How many transformations did your father undergo?"

"Four, if you count the metamorphosis as one transformation."

"Okay." Zane punched a button in his panel, and snapped it shut. The numbers vanished, replaced by the normal blue glow in his digital eyes. "That took less than the anticipated time."

"Ha ha ha ha ha. Great. Now can you finally tell me _what the heck is going on_?" Jay threw his arms in the air like he was swatting an army of flies.

"He's testing us out to see whether we are who we really are," Lloyd said, leaning forward and folding his hands on the table. "If we started making plans while the Bleaker was here, he'd know all of our moves. In order to counter the enemy, we have to make sure they can't get their hands on our info."

"Lloyd's right," Zane said. "An open strategy is a useless strategy."

Some of them nodded. "Good idea." Cole grabbed another piece of cake from his salad bowl, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Well, now that that's cleared up, let's get down to business. What are our options?"

"First things first: crack the code. I've calculated the amount of time necessary to decipher the file and absorb its contents. In the process, I will be on standby. That is, all other systems will be offline during a set period of time. It will take a minimum of a week. If not, it may last for six months."

"Six months?" Jay yelled.

The spiders burst into an anthill of worms, slowly working their way up into Lloyd's throat. Earlier Zane had said that the process had to go on without interruptions. If could only shut down for a set period of time, instead of automatically going off and online depending on when he cracked the code, if he picked the wrong time, he'd have to restart the process again. If he ran out of days, or months, he'd have to do it again, and again, and again, until it snowballed into an endless loop of decoding attempts. Meanwhile, the Bleakers would be having a fine time trashing the city and having a picnic on the upper deck. If they could eat, maybe.

Zane explained this issue to everyone. "Pfft." Jay waved a hand dismissively. "You made it sound like you were about to walk all of Ninjago on foot in half a second flat. Easy. Nya and I can reprogram you to automatically go online once the decoding is complete. 'Piece of cake,' as Cole would say. Hey, let's call it The Cake System. How about? And P.I. . can—has anyone seen P.I.X.A.L., by the way?"

Everyone look around, except Zane. "I talked to her right before we came in here. She's in the middle of developing the program. If you would like to assist her, you can once we are finished the meeting."

"Good. Now that that's set, what do we do about the ships?" Kai asked. "There's no way they came by just to say 'hello'. They'll definitely attack soon."

Lloyd nodded. "They'll probably wait till we let out guard down. Let's do it this way: one person needs to be on guard at all times. Whenever we leave _The Bounty_ , we leave two behind. I know it's inconvenient. We're short on numbers and resources. I know, but we need to stick together, especially since…" He cut himself off. "That's it."

"What's it?"

Lloyd slammed his hands on the table and shot to his feet. "Together!" He was thinking so fast he couldn't throw the words out there.

"The best way to wipe out all the Bleakers is to assign different ninja to different people. Cole doesn't have to—you know, fight his dad. Jay can do it, and Jay doesn't have to fight his parents. Cole can. Get it? Actually, no. Even better. The fastest way to fix the problem is to destroy everyone at once. Actually, everything. If we destroy the whole realm—I've gotta talk to Sensei." Lloyd pushed back his chair and crashed through the door, stumbled out into the hallway. He almost slammed his head against the old man's nose. "Uncle, if we destroy the realm, does that break the spell?"

"Yes, but it will also destroy you."

Lloyd's face fell. "Never mind." His shoulders slumped, and he returned to his seat. "Back to brainstorming, guys. It won't work."

"Why?" Jay asked. He explained.

"That is a problem," Cole placed his fist on his chin, "How can we track down every single person in Ninjago?"

"Bleaker, and it's not that hard," Kai said. "Just burn everything. We'll park _The Bounty_ in the water, and wait until everything's gone. Or freeze it. That's even easier."

"But where are we going to get that amount of ice?" Zane asked. "And remember, we don't know all there is to know. The answer"—he placed a titanium finger to his temple—"is here. And you do not have enough fire to burn all the land. Out powers combined could take down Ninjago City alone, and that would exhaust everything we have. After using that much power, the recovery period, even just a day, would give the Bleakers a chance to attack. It only takes one battle to lose the war. If all of them come at us at once…then the mission is blown for good."

 _If the operation's blown, we're all going to die._ As the sheer magnitude of reality hit him, Lloyd's palms began to sweat. Now that they'd laid everything out on the table, he was beginning to wonder. If they died, there would be no one left to protect Ninjago. That had never been one of their considerations. Sure, when they'd become ninja, they'd signed up for this. They'd prepared themselves to make a sacrifice. They had, twice, if his father counted. He always would, to all of them.

"Any ideas?" Cole asked.

Kai got up and began to pace around the table. "What happens if we don't crack the code?"

"You get no info. That's what happens."

"But like Lloyd said, we're short on hands. We need everyone we can get. We're not just fighting some bad guy and a big army of bozos. We're basically fighting all of Ninjago. Jay, Cole, Nya, P.I.X.A.L., Sensei, Lloyd, Misako, me—just nine of us. We can't afford to cut out a single team member from this operation." Kai smirked. "So, let's investigate this the ninja way."

"And if we find nothing?" Cole asked.

"Then we crack the code."

Zane nodded. "Last resort."

Jay slammed his palms on the table. "Great! Then let's suit up. Ninjaaa—"

"Go!" Everyone else yelled in unison.

"Before you head off into the sunset, Jay," Lloyd said, "we have to decide who's on guard. We also have to wait till the cover of night."

They did three rounds of "rock, paper, clamp", and after Jay indignantly demanding the first round turn to three, Lloyd fell into the trap. Again.

He groaned and hung his head as the others high-fived. "Sorry, Lloyd," Nya said, heading out the door, "I know how it is. Read a comic book or something. See ya tomorrow, or tonight."

"It's still daytime. Wait a minute. Where are you going?"

She swung around in the doorway. "To get a pink Santa suit." Then she left, Lloyd staring dumbly at the empty hallway beyond.

"Uh…okay."

* * *

They hadn't developed a plan. Not that they usually did. But this time, when they set off in their new uniforms, shaking and bustling with excitement, Lloyd's wormy spiders liquefied and trickled down his stomach. He didn't know why, but he felt a strange unease watching them slide off the anchor and thump lightly in the shady sand. _Something isn't right._

He dragged a beach recliner and fold up table out, flexing his fingers as he carried them to the upper deck. His powers had vanished without a trace. It only made sense that he stay. He could do little in this state, after all. Sighing, he settled down with three comic books, a glass of water, and a pair of binoculars. Normally reading would distract him, but reading pages and pages of heroes blasting out superpowers like they were breathing air only frustrated him more—reminding him of how weak become, how useless. His own mother had had to protect him from his father. How had he fallen to such a pitiful state?

He looked at his hands, a grimace pulling at his face. Would he recover?

He felt at his belt. He'd gotten used to carrying four knives. Two long, two short. Hah. In the face of an army, not even the great Lord Garmadon could take them down, in his prime days—

"Or otherwise."

Lloyd sighed and picked up the binoculars. The ships remained still as ever, not a single ripple in the waters below.

Rain pattered down. Lloyd stuck a hand out, the soft drops of water rolling off his fingertips.

"Yeah, or otherwise," he whispered listlessly. There was no wind to keep him company, to fill in the gap that had opened up inside. He closed his fist, and returned his attention to the beach.

 _Something isn't right._ The words flitted by again, accompanied by that strange sense of dread. He sat up, glanced around the deck. Nothing. He leaned back, felt another wave of unease, glanced around again. Other than the rain and the softly swaying ropes up high, _The Bounty_ remained stiller than the beach itself: an angry old man looming over him. His back tingled. It really felt like…

He slowly placed the binoculars down with one hand, reached for a knife with the other. His hand clamped on the cold leather hilt, encircled it, held it tight. He could feel a presence—something ancient, something evil.

"Who are you?"

It seemed stupid, asking something like that, but after getting acquainted with so many villains, he'd long since figured out a common pattern among the powerful ones. Because of the amount of power they wielded , they were confident in their own abilities. Combined with a swollen ego, most of them would outright brag and step into the limelight. Of course, it depended on personality and the villain's current stand, but…no harm in trying. The response, or lack of, could tell a lot about the enemy, and the more they knew, the stronger their own standing. Lloyd betted the guy would, since he more than likely walked about unseen.

He waited a second. Then another. Then another.

Ten seconds later, nothing had happened. Everything remained in a standstill, the world silent, yet the presence still there, growing neither weaker nor stronger. But it was there. He was sure of it.

Tensing, he slid the knife out and lunged to his feet, swung around, arm up to intercept a blow.

Nothing happened.

The rain continued a steady downpour, drenching him to the bone. He shivered. "That does not mean I'm scared," he said, just in case. Right after the words tumbled out, he wanted to smack himself. _Good job, Lloyd. You've successfully labeled yourself an idiot/a moron in front of the next Dark Lord. Great way to impress someone. Maybe you'll give him a good enough laugh he might just not kill you till tomorrow night._

He tried to put on a fierce face, but being the ever-so-expressionless fellow that is he, he succeeded in giving someone a very, very good laugh. "Lloyd, what are you doing?"

"Mom, stay inside! Go alert the others."

Too late. Misako had already lifted the trapdoor, and taken her first step onto the slippery wood. Lloyd ripped out a second knife.

Then he was flying, rain slapping him smack bang on his face. His cheek stung as his head connected with the trap door. Then he was rolling, the world flipping and sloshing in a whirlwind of blurred colors. Pain exploded in his entire left side, and he flopped over, his neck twisting off the last step onto the landing.

He blinked, his vision refocusing on the next flight of stairs below.

 _Ten steps._

 _Turn left._

 _Hallway._

 _Turn right._

 _The Bridge._

 _Five seconds, ten, fifteen if actually Jay locked the door._

He scrambled to his feet, swung around just in time to see a green and brown vortex crash into him and send him spinning down the next flight. He grasped onto Misako's sleeves, flung her away. "Go get the—"

He never got the chance to finish.


End file.
